iPad

iOS

Jailbreak

Cydia

Apple may be moving at a much faster pace than originally anticipated with the company's long expected but still un-confirmed newest project - an Internet-connected high-def flat screen television set. According to the latest reports, this rumored high-end product could debut as soon as late 2011.

Ticonderoga Securities Brian White said this week that Apple is poised to jump into the $100 billion LCD TV market much sooner than expected and all signs point to that eventuality. The evidence? White says the "data points" he's picked up overseas suggests that Apple's "Smart TV" is coming soon.

"Our research suggests this Smart TV would go well beyond the miniature $99 second-generation Apple TV that the company released last fall and provide a full-blown TV product for consumers," White told investors Wednesday. "The combination of Apple's powerful ecosystem, industrial design savvy, powerful brand and ability to reinvent product categories could make Apple a powerful force in the TV world over the next few years," he said.

Of course, you may be saying to yourself "haven't I already heard this report?" If so, you're correct. Several months ago, Wall Street analyst Gene Munster similarly weighed in on the prospect of a connected-TV from Apple, saying that the new product would debut sometime next year. Although it isn't clear which analyst (if either) is correct in their reported timetables for launch, it is obvious that Apple is, indeed, working on something big - something that suggests to multiple analysts and news media outlets that a "smart TV" could be Apple's next big thing.